Alvin Pang
Encyclopedia
Alvin Pang was named 2005 Young Artist of the Year (Literature) by the National Arts Council Singapore
. He holds a First Class Honours degree in English Literature
from the University of York
and an Honorary Fellowship in Writing from the University of Iowa
's International Writing Program (2002). For his contributions, he was conferred the Singapore Youth Award (Arts and Culture) in 2007, and the JCCI Foundation Education Award in 2008.
His first volume of poems, TESTING THE SILENCE (Ethos Books
, 1997) was listed as one of the Top Ten Books of 1997 by The Straits Times
and was short listed for the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) Book Award in 1998/9. CITY OF RAIN (Ethos Books, 2003), his second volume of poetry, was the only Singaporean book to be named to the Straits Times Top Ten List for 2003.
He is the co-editor of the seminal volume, NO OTHER CITY: The Ethos Anthology of Urban Poetry (Ethos Books, 2000), one of the Straits Times' Top Ten Books for 2000 and a key text on university syllabuses. In 2001, he was one of a quartet of bilateral editors who developed a joint anthology of Singapore-Filipino love poetry. It was released as LOVE GATHERS ALL: The Philippines-Singapore Anthology of Love Poetry (Anvil Press / Ethos Books, 2002), and won the Global Filipino Literary Award for Poetry in 2003. He is also co-editor, along with the poet John Kinsella, of OVER THERE, an anthology of Singapore and Australian poetry, and of DOUBLE SKIN, a bilingual anthology of Italian and Singapore poets (with Turin-based poet and editor Tiziano Fratus
).
Pang was the Featured Poet in the Spring 2002 issue of the Atlanta Review (USA), a journal which counts Nobel Prize laureates Seamus Heaney
and Derek Walcott
among its contributors; he is also among the select few poets celebrated in its 10th Anniversary edition. His work has also been featured in journals such as The Wolf (UK), English Review (UK), Salt (Australia), Paper Tiger (Australia), Interlogue: Studies in Singapore Literature, Bonnier's Literary Magazine, Slope (USA), Washington Square Review (USA), Quarterly Literary Review Singapore
and RHYTHMS: The Millennium Anthology of Singapore Poetry, for which he was the English Language Poetry Editor. His poetry has appeared at the Poetry Society
and Poetry Library in London; and has been staged by professional theatre companies in the US, Malaysia and Singapore. It has also been exhibited in the Asian Civilisations Museum
, expressed as sound sculpture, screened on national television, and requested and read on BBC Radio. Pang's work appears in the 2008 international anthology: Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia, and Beyond (W.W.Norton, 2008). His poems have been translated into several languages, including: Chinese, Croatian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Lithuanian, Malay, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Ukrainian, Tamil.
A recipient of several Singapore International Foundation and National Arts Council grants, Pang frequently assists the National Arts Council in literary projects. He served on the organizing committees of the Singapore Writer’s Festival in 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003. He is also a founder and coordinator of "WORDFEAST 2004" – Singapore’s first international poetry festival. In 2003, Pang co-founded The Literary Centre (Singapore), a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to literary development, interdisciplinary capacity, multicultural communication, and positive social change. He was the 2009 Poet-In-Residence at Raffles Institution
, his father's and his alma mater.
Pang has made several international appearances in support of Singaporean writing. He led a delegation of Singapore writers to Australia in July 2001 and another to the Austin International Poetry Festival in April 2002. He featured at the 2003 Edinburgh International Book Festival
and the 2006 Sydney Writer's Festival as an invited international poet. He has also read at literary festivals and events in Albany, Bali, Byron Bay, Cape Town, Darwin, Finland, Geraldton, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Slovenia, L'viv, Zagreb and elsewhere.
A former teacher, civil servant, journalist, columnist and online producer, Pang was the founder and editor of online poetry anthology, The Poetry Billboard, and the Literary Singapore news website and mailing list (info@writer.per.sg). He has also contributed an occasional column to the Straits Times commentary section on technology, culture, society and other issues. Some of his articles, essays and commentaries are collected on http://www.verbosity.net. Pang consults on web, editorial and strategic communications, and research for a range of corporate and public sector organisations, and facilitates training and development programmes for schools and broader audiences. He is also editor of a professional public sector journal, Ethos (http://www.cscollege.gov.sg/ethos)
Other Creative Writing
Anthologies (as editor)
Translations
National Arts Council Singapore
The National Arts Council of Singapore was established in September 1991 "to nurture the arts and make it an integral part of life in Singapore.-History :...
. He holds a First Class Honours degree in English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
from the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
and an Honorary Fellowship in Writing from the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
's International Writing Program (2002). For his contributions, he was conferred the Singapore Youth Award (Arts and Culture) in 2007, and the JCCI Foundation Education Award in 2008.
His first volume of poems, TESTING THE SILENCE (Ethos Books
Ethos Books
Established in 1997, Ethos Books is a small press focusing on publishing literary works, primarily from writers in Singapore. It produces poetry volumes and anthologies, including several award-winning titles...
, 1997) was listed as one of the Top Ten Books of 1997 by The Straits Times
The Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
and was short listed for the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) Book Award in 1998/9. CITY OF RAIN (Ethos Books, 2003), his second volume of poetry, was the only Singaporean book to be named to the Straits Times Top Ten List for 2003.
He is the co-editor of the seminal volume, NO OTHER CITY: The Ethos Anthology of Urban Poetry (Ethos Books, 2000), one of the Straits Times' Top Ten Books for 2000 and a key text on university syllabuses. In 2001, he was one of a quartet of bilateral editors who developed a joint anthology of Singapore-Filipino love poetry. It was released as LOVE GATHERS ALL: The Philippines-Singapore Anthology of Love Poetry (Anvil Press / Ethos Books, 2002), and won the Global Filipino Literary Award for Poetry in 2003. He is also co-editor, along with the poet John Kinsella, of OVER THERE, an anthology of Singapore and Australian poetry, and of DOUBLE SKIN, a bilingual anthology of Italian and Singapore poets (with Turin-based poet and editor Tiziano Fratus
Tiziano Fratus
Tiziano Fratus is a poet and publisher.He wrote the poetic and dramatic cycle The Molossus composed by the monologue in verse autumn for eleni, the collection of poems lumina, the long dramatic poem the inquisition, the prison poem the cry, the collection shipwreck at times of colonies...
).
Pang was the Featured Poet in the Spring 2002 issue of the Atlanta Review (USA), a journal which counts Nobel Prize laureates Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
and Derek Walcott
Derek Walcott
Derek Alton Walcott, OBE OCC is a Saint Lucian poet, playwright, writer and visual artist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992 and the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2011 for White Egrets. His works include the Homeric epic Omeros...
among its contributors; he is also among the select few poets celebrated in its 10th Anniversary edition. His work has also been featured in journals such as The Wolf (UK), English Review (UK), Salt (Australia), Paper Tiger (Australia), Interlogue: Studies in Singapore Literature, Bonnier's Literary Magazine, Slope (USA), Washington Square Review (USA), Quarterly Literary Review Singapore
Quarterly Literary Review Singapore
Quarterly Literary Review Singapore is a Singapore literary journal founded by Singaporean poet Toh Hsien Min in 2001. The journal is structured as a non-profit volunteer collective, and publishes poetry, short stories, essays, criticism and interviews, among others, from writers in Singapore and...
and RHYTHMS: The Millennium Anthology of Singapore Poetry, for which he was the English Language Poetry Editor. His poetry has appeared at the Poetry Society
Poetry Society
The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry".The Society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society in 1912...
and Poetry Library in London; and has been staged by professional theatre companies in the US, Malaysia and Singapore. It has also been exhibited in the Asian Civilisations Museum
Asian Civilisations Museum
The Asian Civilisations Museum is an institution which forms a part of the three museums of the National Museum of Singapore. It is one of the pioneering museums in the region to specialise in pan-Asian cultures and civilisations...
, expressed as sound sculpture, screened on national television, and requested and read on BBC Radio. Pang's work appears in the 2008 international anthology: Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia, and Beyond (W.W.Norton, 2008). His poems have been translated into several languages, including: Chinese, Croatian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Lithuanian, Malay, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Ukrainian, Tamil.
A recipient of several Singapore International Foundation and National Arts Council grants, Pang frequently assists the National Arts Council in literary projects. He served on the organizing committees of the Singapore Writer’s Festival in 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003. He is also a founder and coordinator of "WORDFEAST 2004" – Singapore’s first international poetry festival. In 2003, Pang co-founded The Literary Centre (Singapore), a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to literary development, interdisciplinary capacity, multicultural communication, and positive social change. He was the 2009 Poet-In-Residence at Raffles Institution
Raffles Institution
Raffles Institution , founded in 1823, is the oldest centre for pre-tertiary learning in Singapore. It is an independent school in Singapore providing secondary and pre-university education. RI consists of a boys-only secondary section , and a coeducational pre-university section...
, his father's and his alma mater.
Pang has made several international appearances in support of Singaporean writing. He led a delegation of Singapore writers to Australia in July 2001 and another to the Austin International Poetry Festival in April 2002. He featured at the 2003 Edinburgh International Book Festival
Edinburgh International Book Festival
The Edinburgh International Book Festival, is a book festival that takes place in the last three weeks of August every year in Charlotte Square, in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital...
and the 2006 Sydney Writer's Festival as an invited international poet. He has also read at literary festivals and events in Albany, Bali, Byron Bay, Cape Town, Darwin, Finland, Geraldton, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Slovenia, L'viv, Zagreb and elsewhere.
A former teacher, civil servant, journalist, columnist and online producer, Pang was the founder and editor of online poetry anthology, The Poetry Billboard, and the Literary Singapore news website and mailing list (info@writer.per.sg). He has also contributed an occasional column to the Straits Times commentary section on technology, culture, society and other issues. Some of his articles, essays and commentaries are collected on http://www.verbosity.net. Pang consults on web, editorial and strategic communications, and research for a range of corporate and public sector organisations, and facilitates training and development programmes for schools and broader audiences. He is also editor of a professional public sector journal, Ethos (http://www.cscollege.gov.sg/ethos)
Selected Bibliography (Literary)
Poetry- 1997 - Testing the Silence ISBN 981-00-9538-4
- 2003 - City of Rain ISBN 981-04-6329-4
- 2006 - Other Things (chapbook of unpublished poems)
Other Creative Writing
- 2011 - What Gives Us Our Names ISBN 978-981-07-0128-4
Anthologies (as editor)
- 2000 - No Other City: The Ethos Anthology of Urban Poetry (with Aaron Lee) ISBN 981-04-2276-8
- 2002 - Love Gathers All : The Philippines-Singapore Love Anthology (with Aaron Lee, Ramon Sunico and Alfred Yuson) ISBN 981-04-5101-6
- 2008 - Over There: Poems from Singapore and Australia (with John Kinsella) ISBN 978-981-05-9461-9
- 2009 - Double Skin: New Poetic Voices from Italy and Singapore (with Tiziano Fratus) ISBN 978-981-08-2721-2
- 2009 - TUMASIK: Contemporary Writing from Singapore (Autumn Hill,USA) ISBN 978-0-9843036-2-5 (ISBN 978-0-9843036-0-1)
Translations
- 2010 - The Poems of Yeng Pway Ngon - Vol 1: Rebellion (with Goh Beng Choo)
See also
- Literature of SingaporeLiterature of SingaporeThe literature of Singapore comprises a collection of literary works by Singaporeans in any of the country's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil....
- Ethos Books
- "Poetry and the Renaissance Machine", Harvard Asia Quarterly
- Postcolonial Web : Singaporean Literature